LARBERT, Scotland,
United Kingdom, March 3,
2021 /CNW/ - (TSX: NFI) Alexander Dennis Limited
("ADL"), together with BYD UK today announced that its electric
vehicle partnership, the UK's leading electric bus producer, has
taken an order for 22 BYD ADL Enviro200EV electric single deck
buses from First Bus. ADL is a subsidiary of NFI Group Inc.
("NFI"), one of the world's leading independent global bus
manufacturers and a leader in zero-emission
mobility.
The buses, which are part-funded by the Scottish
Government, will be deployed in Glasgow in time for the COP26 United Nations' Climate Change conference,
ahead of further electrification of the First Bus fleet in the
city. This comes just seven months after First Bus announced its
commitment to purchase no diesel buses after 2022 and to operate a
fully zero-emission fleet by 2035.
The Scottish Government has supported First Bus' purchase
of these 22 BYD ADL Enviro200EV through the first round of the
Scottish Ultra-Low Emission Bus Scheme.
The new electric vehicles, which will be 11.6m long and seat up to 40 passengers each,
will be based at the state-of-the-art First Bus Caledonia depot in
Glasgow. Charging facilities have
already been installed there as part of an earlier project, which
also saw a pair of similar BYD ADL Enviro200EV introduced at the
start of 2020, giving the company valuable experience in the
operation of electric buses.
This new award reflects the ongoing success of the BYD ADL
partnership. Since launching in 2015, the partnership has gone from
strength to strength, with over 500 electric buses delivered or on
order, and has completed more than 16 million emission-free miles
of service. ADL is a subsidiary of NFI, a
leader and innovator in battery-electric and fuel-cell electric
buses and coaches, while BYD is a global leader in
batteries, energy management and electric mobility. Using BYD's
battery electric driveline technology, ADL will assemble the buses
at its factory in Falkirk,
ensuring the investment benefits the local economy in Scotland's Central Belt.
Andrew Jarvis, Managing
Director for First Bus in Scotland, said: "We are delighted to have been
awarded this funding. Cleaner air is vitally important to all of us
in society and we are determined to play our part in the
communities that we serve. In January last year, we launched the
city's first electric buses on a commercial bus route since the
1960s and we are proud that we can now build upon this with another
22 fully electric vehicles, which will replace the oldest buses in
our fleet to further improve air quality in the city of
Glasgow. We have led the way with
bus operators in Glasgow as a key
partner with Glasgow City Council for the country's first ever LEZ
rollout and we have ambitious plans to help accelerate this process
and make up for lost time due to the pandemic."
Paul Davies, ADL President
& Managing Director, said: "COP26
will be a showcase of Britain's
commitment to fighting climate change, and First Bus' new electric
buses will be a testament to the initiative taken by the transport
group to achieve a zero-emission fleet by 2035. Built in
Scotland, these electric buses for
Glasgow keep Scottish Government
investment in the country to maximise the benefit to our
communities, underpinning jobs and developing skills in clean
vehicle technology."
Frank Thorpe, Managing
Director at BYD UK, added: "Once again we have a high-profile
operator in a major British city making a firm commitment to
eMobility. With BYD battery technology at the heart of these
vehicles, First Bus can look forward to clean, reliable and
efficient operation for years to come. Of course, we're thrilled at
the prospect of our vehicles taking centre stage during
COP26," he said, "although the real
winners will be the people of Glasgow who are set to benefit from a new way
of travelling around their great city–a way that is truly
sustainable, as well as extremely safe and comfortable."
About NFI
Leveraging 450 years of combined experience, NFI is
leading the electrification of mass mobility around the world. With
zero-emission buses and coaches, infrastructure, and technology,
NFI meets today's urban demands for scalable smart mobility
solutions. Together, NFI is enabling more livable cities through
connected, clean, and sustainable transportation.
With 8,000 team members in ten countries, NFI is a leading
global bus manufacturer of mass mobility solutions under the brands
New Flyer® (heavy-duty transit buses), MCI® (motor
coaches), Alexander Dennis Limited (single and double-deck
buses), Plaxton (motor coaches), ARBOC® (low-floor
cutaway and medium-duty buses), and NFI Parts™. NFI
currently offers the widest range of sustainable drive systems
available, including zero-emission electric (trolley, battery, and
fuel cell), natural gas, electric hybrid, and clean diesel. In
total, NFI supports its installed base of over 105,000 buses and
coaches around the world. NFI common shares are traded on the
Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol NFI. News and information
is available at www.nfigroup.com
, www.newflyer.com,
www.mcicoach.com,
www.alexander-dennis.com,
www.arbocsv.com, and
www.nfi.parts.
About Alexander
Dennis
Alexander Dennis Limited ("ADL") is a global leader in the
design and manufacture of double deck buses and is also the UK's
largest bus and coach manufacturer. ADL offers single and double
deck vehicles under the brands of Alexander
Dennis and Plaxton, and has over 31,000 vehicles in service
in the UK, Europe, Hong Kong, Singapore, New
Zealand, Mexico,
Canada and the United States. Further information is
available at www.alexander-dennis.com.
About BYD
BYD Company Ltd. is one of China's largest privately-owned enterprises.
Since its inception in 1995, the company quickly developed solid
expertise in rechargeable batteries and became a relentless
advocate of sustainable development, successfully expanding its
renewable energy solutions globally with operations in over 50
countries and regions. Its creation of a Zero Emissions Energy
Ecosystem – comprising affordable solar power generation, reliable
energy storage and cutting-edge electrified transportation – has
made it an industry leader in the energy and transportation
sectors. BYD is listed on the Hong
Kong and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges. More information on the
company can be found at www.byd.com.
About BYD UK
BYD UK was established in London, UK in March
2013 and moved to Iver, Buckinghamshire, England in June 2018 to further develop its business. It is
primarily engaged in providing British customers with a series of
new energy buses together with interrelated after sales service.
Its main focus is to provide UK customers with BYD new energy
solutions, including electric vehicles, rechargeable batteries,
solar panels, energy storage systems, rail transit and other new
energy products, as well as related after-sales
services.
About First Bus
First Bus is one of the UK's largest bus operators. Making
journeys easier for our customers, we were the first national bus
operator to accept contactless card payments across all of our
services and our First Bus App is voted 'best in class' amongst UK
bus operators. Our most recent investments are in new,
state-of-the-art buses across our key networks. We work proactively
with our local authority partners, making a positive impact on air
quality, tackling congestion and improving customer experience. We
are focused on First Bus becoming a leader in the transition to a
low-carbon future and are committed to operating a zero-emission
bus fleet by 2035; we have pledged not to purchase any new diesel
buses after December 2022. We also
operate the Aircoach network in Ireland. First Bus is a division of
FirstGroup.
SOURCE NFI Group Inc.